In years past, if you wanted to buy something, but couldn’t pay for the whole thing all at once, you could put it on layaway.

Basically, the store would hold your couch or fridge for you, until you paid it off; some stores still have this kind of system in place.

But now, some lenders have started offering a similar kind of service.

With me to explain is Rebecca Wessell, a Loan Expert with the personal finance website Value Penguin. She joins me via Skype.